CSUEB to host group art show in April

Jamie Soto,
Contributor

Four years ago, a tight-knit group of 20 friends at California State University, East Bay gathered daily in their dorm living room to have conversations about music, clothes, and sports.

They named themselves the Degenerates, because they all related to a scene in the TV show “How To Make It In America” where characters are called “losers” and respond with, “not losers, degenerates.”

The members of the group drew cartoon parodies of Superman, Bugs Bunny, The Simpsons, and Mickey Mouse. In 2012, the drawings were collected and placed into a production agency called Jiveass, which grew to create stickers, album covers, and short films.

This April the Degenerates will host their work for the first time in the Art and Education building at CSUEB. The exhibit will feature thousands of 6 by 4 photos and poster art that aims to depict the college experience. There will also be a live performance by rapper DTMWIN, a member of the Degenerates.

“I think that without an experience there is no story and you get to come live and be a part of our story,” said Chase Mee, Degenerate and graduate art student at CSUEB. “You can see and feel and hear our college experience.”

Members chose not to do any publicity for the show, in an effort to keep the art in the showcase a surprise. The majority of the featured photos depict their progression as college students from 18 up to 25 years old. In the artwork, they are going to show how the drawings evolved into the brand.

The art show will have around 3,500 6 by 4 photos that will cover the walls, giving the audience a look into what has happened over the last four years of their lives. Posters will also fill the walls, as highlights of special moments to the group. The photos and posters will be in chronological order.

The exhibit room will be dark, with little lights on the artwork. “I am going to use lights to light up the stage and black out the audience, so that they are completely obsolete,” said Mee.

The Degenerate art show will be held April 3 to April 5 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Old Kiln Room Gallery at the Art and Education building on campus.